POL Chapter 1
Notes
What Is Crime?
An act proclaimed by law as a wrong against society and, if committed under certain
circumstances, punishable by society.
The Consensus Model
Assumes that a diverse group of people have similar morals and share an ideal of what is
“right” and “wrong.”
Crimes are acts that violate this shared value system and are deemed harmful to society
Violent crime
Crimes against persons, which dominate our perspectives about crime.
Four general categories
Murder
Sexual assault
Assault and battery
Robbery
Property crime
Most common form of criminal activity during which the goal of the offender is some
form of economic gain or damaging of the property.
Four general categories
Larceny / Theft
Burglary
Motor vehicle theft
Arson
Public order crime
Often referred to as victimless crimes as they only harm the offender
High-tech crime
Newest typology of crime, directly related to increased use of computers in everyday life
Cyber crimes against persons and property
Cyber crimes in the business world
Cyber crimes against the community
Three goals of the modern criminal justice system
To control crime
To prevent crime
To provide and maintain justice
Law enforcement
State law enforcement
Only state without a state law enforcement agency is Hawaii
Two general types of state law enforcement agencies
State police
Highway patrols
Other state law enforcers include fire marshals and fish, game, and watercraft wardens
The Courts
Dual court system with two independent judicial systems
Federal level
State level
Fifty-two different court systems
One for each of the fifty different states
Trial courts at local and state levels
Intermediate courts of appeals
State supreme courts
Corrections
Probation is the most common correctional treatment allowing the offender to return to
the community under supervision
The most frequent type of release from jail or prison is parole
The “wedding cake” model of criminal justice
Discretion comes to bear depending on the relative importance of a particular case
“Top” layer consists only of a handful of celebrity cases
Second layer consists of “high profile” felonies
Third layer consists of “ordinary” felonies
Fourth layer consists of misdemeanors
Which model prevails today?
When crime rates are high, the justice system responds by favoring crime control values
Criminal Justice Today
Gun Sales and Gun Control
30,000 people are killed by gunfire each year
Illegally obtained firearms pose a series concern for law enforcement
1/3 of American households legally possess at least one gun
The debate over gun control continues as the Second Amendment is analyzed
Illegal Drugs
Crack cocaine blamed for explosion of violent crime in 1980s and 1990s
Intense wave of violent crime related to wars between Mexican drug cartels
U.S. government estimates that Mexican drug cartels supply drugs to 230 American cities
War on drugs refers primarily to psychoactive drugs, which a significant number of
Americans regularly use
The Homeland Security and the Patriot Act
The ultimate goal is to protect American from terrorism
This has led to politicians and police officers to favor the crime control model
The Patriot Act was passed six weeks after the 9/11 attacks